It was a momentous occasion at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park when we celebrated gorilla Vila’s 54th birthday on November 23, 2011. Party guests included gorilla fans of all ages who have generously contributed to the gorillas’ online Animal Care Wish List, providing all kinds of items to pique the gorillas’ interest and stimulate their minds!

To look at her, you would never guess that Vila is a great-great grandmother, the matriarch of five generations of gorillas at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. Born in 1957, Vila was raised at the Zoo’s Children’s Zoo, where she grew to be a favorite among visitors and an important ambassador for her species. Participating in a landmark study on great ape intelligence that spanned six years, Vila contributed to the base of scientific knowledge about gorillas. Then paired with Albert, another San Diego legend, she gave birth in 1965 to Alvila, the first gorilla born in San Diego and only the fifth gorilla to be born in a zoo.

Upon moving to the Safari Park in 1975, Vila quickly endeared herself to the visitors and staff. Although reproductive problems prevented her from maintaining additional pregnancies, Vila’s gentleness and patience with infants made her a perfect candidate to be a surrogate mother for infants whose own mothers could not or would not take care of them. One such infant was her granddaughter, Alberta. Raised in the Park’s Animal Care Center, Alberta started making daily visits to the gorilla exhibit with her keepers at four months of age. It was Vila’s calm manner and sustained interest in the infant that earned Vila the opportunity to raise her granddaughter.

Winston strikes a pose next to a whimisical cardboard creature.

While Vila acted as a surrogate mother for hand-reared infants, mother-reared infants have also gravitated toward her. This attraction proved invaluable when Vila took over the care of Schroeder, a three-year-old whose mother had died of a rare condition. Although he no longer needed to nurse, such a young gorilla would still be in need of nurturing. Fortunately, he and Vila had already established an exceptionally strong bond, and she immediately took over his care, insuring his place in the troop.

Characteristically, Vila is letting our newest baby, little Monroe, call the shots in their relationship! At five months of age, the little guy is really starting to explore, and his mom, Kokamo, ever watchful, is loosening her grip. Just this morning, Monroe had his nose right next to Vila’s face as she ate some melon, and later, when he was clumsily trying to climb a hanging tire, Vila lent a helping hand and cradled his head in her palm.

Kokamo and son Monroe enjoy some leafy goodies.

Vila has a long history of nurturing infants and mentoring other gorillas, which not only establishes her as an invaluable member of the troop but also identifies the strength of the troop social dynamic and family unit. The capability of gorillas to overcome inadequacies in their rearing through the establishment of conspecific relationships is remarkable. The relationships between the individuals continue to evolve as youngsters are born into the troop and throughout all the stages of life.

Little is known about gerontology in gorillas, as they have only been studied in the wild since the mid-1960s. Throughout her life, Vila has and will continue to contribute immeasurably to the scientific base of knowledge for her species. She also continues to add a rich dimension to the daily life of her troop. It is a rare opportunity we have at the Safari Park to witness such a remarkably full gorilla life and vibrant, natural troop dynamic.

At the impressive age of 54, Vila is an elderly, but quite healthy, gorilla. Living in southern California certainly seems to agree with her. She receives a daily senior multivitamin. She has lost some teeth and, yes, tooth loss and periodontal disease have been reported in free-ranging gorilla populations. In the wild, this type of condition would eventually lead to the gorilla’s demise. Although Vila has lost a number of teeth throughout her life, she has the distinct advantage of exceptional medical care, and she continues to enjoy an excellent quality of life. Corn on the cob is still a favorite, and she doesn’t miss a kernel!

18 Reader Comments

Happy Birthday to Vila!
What a wonderful article about a wonderful gorrila. She seems to be a blessing for the group to have her around.

Linda

Posted November 29, 2011 at 11:11 AM

We don’t get to hear about the gorillas very often. How fun to meet Vila the Nanny Gorilla! She could almost start her own agency couldn’t she?! Happy birthday lovely lady!

Mary

Posted November 29, 2011 at 12:26 PM

What a beautiful and well-written story. Vila is such a good Nanny! I know it makes her happy since she had difficulties with reproduction. Thank you to the caregivers of all of these precious animals.

kathy from canada

Posted November 29, 2011 at 3:03 PM

What a wonderful story, we humans could learn so much from Vila. Too often people feel that unless they can reproduce they don’t have anything to contribute and Vila proves that misguided theory quite wrong.

I’ve always believed that when one door closes another one opens. In this case Vila not being able to have more young of her own was/is able to provide love and guidance to those little gorillas that needed a mother. What a grand lady she is. I hope she will be around for many years to come.

Rose N.

Posted November 30, 2011 at 12:54 PM

Hi Peggy, thank you for a most informative blog. I really enjoyed attending Vila’s Birthday Party. Of course, as we all suspected, Monroe stole the show and captured everyone’s heart.

It was wonderful to watch mama Kokamo interact with her baby. She never took her eyes off him even when she was opening the boxes of treats. I especially loved the way she “scooped” Monroe up and carried him from place to place.

Thank you for your narration during the party. It was a wonderful learning experience for everyone.

Thank you also for sharing Vila’s history. I had no idea that Vila had such a long history of nurturing infants and mentoring other gorillas. May she continue to do this for many more years. She is truly a “grand lady”.

Thank you Peggy, all the keepers and staff for your hard work in caring for these amazing gorillas. It is greatly appreciated.

I have a 14 minute video of Vila’s birthday party, which also features, baby Monroe. You can find this video at:

Happy 54th Birthday, Vila (a few days late)!! Hope you enjoyed your special day with your family!
Loved watching the video of Vila’s bday party, Rose N.! That was fun to watch, especially with baby gorilla Monroe just feeling, touching, exploring, and mouthing all of the snackies, boxes, balls, and other things that were out there. Everything is a toy to babies, humans and animals alike!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL

Rose N.

Posted December 1, 2011 at 8:50 AM

Chari – Thanks. You’re absolutely right. Everything is a toy to babies. We really enjoyed attending Vila’s birthday party. It’s hard to believe that Vila is one of the oldest gorillas in the world. She is a perky and happy gorilla; however, she opted to enjoy all the wonderful treats and celebrate quietly in the background. She basically let Monroe steal the show and he did!

Hi Rose! Thanks for sharing your video! I loved every minute of it and I hope one day I get to visit these wonderful animals in person

Rose N.

Posted December 2, 2011 at 4:43 PM

Tia, thank you for your comment. I hope that you can visit the beautiful San Diego Zoo in the future. It is a wonderful place. The animals are always enjoyable and you will never tire of them.

nancy from michigan

Posted December 4, 2011 at 12:55 PM

I so enjoyed this interesting story and history of Vila the gorilla! what is the life span generally of gorillas in captivity? I hope she lives a long healthy, happy, life and remains free of pain! it sounds like she is loved & respected by her troop as well as her keepers! wonderful! keep us informed a little more often about our beloved gorillas. please! thanks alot! they are so interesting. we all wish that there was a gorilla cam that we could all watch & keep up with the troop! does the future see this as a possibility? too expensive? would donations help to make this happen? just asking!

Moderator’s note: According to our Animal Bytes: Gorilla fact sheet, gorilla life span is about 35 years in the wild and up to 50 years in zoos. A gorilla cam is not in the plans at this time. But I agree, they are wonderful to watch, and Vila is much loved by all!

nancy from michigan

Posted December 6, 2011 at 8:41 AM

thank you Rose for a most delightful video! you did great! the baby was certainly the star even though it was Vila’s birthday! lol…….but we all know that grannys stay in the background and the baby is always the center of attention! the same goes for animal kingdom as well as the human race! as it should!!

anyway, happy b-day vila. she has already lived past the 50 yr. average of a gorilla in captivity! I for one am glad she is the new record holder maybe?

Moderator’s note: Vila is believed to be the 3rd oldest gorilla in managed care.

Thank you Peggy for the gorilla update. I love looking at the cams of the apes and I sure wish there was a cam for the gorillas. I love watching the apes but I just love the gorillas. It is hard for me to come there even though I live in Arizona. I have 2 labrador retrievers and as you well know it is expensive to board them and I love them a lot and would not have it any other way. So I am happy to watch the cams.

autumn

Posted May 9, 2012 at 10:03 AM

I have a question about all the Gorillas in the enclosure…how many male, female, and juveniles are there total at the San Diego Zoo? Thanks.